Tamil Nadu has restricted Diwali firecracker bursting to two one-hour windows, with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board allowing fireworks from 6am to 7am and 7pm to 8pm. The board has also urged residents to use only low-emission green crackers and celebrate in designated open spaces.
The restrictions were announced by the TNPCB in an official release. The government said the two-hour window has been followed in the state since 2018. The latest directions place responsibility for compliance across multiple departments and local administrative authorities.
The TNPCB has involved the school and higher education departments, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises department, the state police, municipal corporations and district collectors to ensure enforcement. The arrangements combine public awareness with local monitoring, making civic and district-level agencies central to how the restrictions will operate in neighbourhoods and public spaces.
Awareness campaigns are being conducted across all districts to explain the environmental and health hazards associated with fireworks. The campaigns are being carried out through schools, colleges, the National Green Corps, eco-clubs and voluntary organisations. The board has also asked district collectors to enforce the Supreme Court mandate requiring the use of green crackers at the local level.
The TNPCB said resident welfare associations must obtain prior permission from district administrations or local bodies if they plan to organise community firecracker bursting in open grounds. This requirement places community events under advance administrative oversight rather than leaving them solely to individual or neighbourhood-level arrangements.
Residents have been asked not to burst high-decibel or continuous-bursting joined crackers. The advisory also prohibits fireworks near hospitals, places of worship and designated silence zones, where noise can create particular risks or disruption. These restrictions require residents and local authorities to account for sensitive public locations while identifying suitable areas for celebrations.
The board has further advised people to keep away from hutments and fire-prone areas while lighting fireworks. The directions link the timing and type of fireworks with wider safety concerns in dense settlements and built-up areas. Enforcement and community permissions will now determine how the state’s two-hour Diwali bursting windows are implemented at the district and local-body levels.
